Nurturing Is Natural
by mahlia
Summary: A two-chaptered piece centering around Rick taking care of Kate when she's ill and vice versa. Lots of fluff, despite the small word count.
1. Doctor Castle

Rated K and I don't own anything. Someone requested Castle and Beckett taking care of each other when they're sick and I was more than happy to oblige. :)

* * *

Castle nearly ran into Ryan and Esposito as he rounded the corner near the bullpen, a cup of coffee in each hand.

"Who are you spying on and why wasn't I invited?" he asked in a mock-whisper. Ryan didn't move as he answered.

"We're not spying. We're planning."

Castle followed Ryan's gaze out into the bullpen, coming to rest on Kate's desk. She'd established a perimeter in yellow crime scene tape.

"Was there a homicide at Kate's desk I wasn't aware of?" Castle sipped his own coffee, grimacing when he burned his tongue.

"That's what we're trying to prevent. Beckett's got a cold and refuses to go home." Esposito turned around and sighed. "And I'm certainly not going to be the one who tells her to go home. Even a man like me has his limits. Bringing down the wrath of a sick Detective Beckett is not something I wanna do today."

Both Ryan and Esposito looked at Castle, giving him their best pleading stares. Ryan spoke up. "C'mon, Castle. She listens to you.. sometimes." The look on his face reminded him too much of Alexis and how he could never say no to her when she was litt… well, he rarely could say no to her, period.

Esposito pouted a little, sticking out his lower lip. Castle rolled his eyes and pushed past him. "Esposito, you're too manly to pout. Leave that to Baby-Face Ryan next time."

Ryan was about to object, but Esposito put a hand up to stop him. "You got carded a week ago when you went to buy beer, bro. He's right." Ryan sighed and they returned to their desks.

Castle cautiously approached the yellow tape around Kate's desk and placed her coffee next to a box of tissues. "Good morning, Detective Beckett."

Kate glanced up from her computer, giving him a weary smile and picking up the coffee. "Thanks, Castle." She took a sip and leaned back in her chair, her normally rigid posture slumped. Her nose was red and sore, her face was pale, and while she looked as beautiful as ever, she definitely looked sick.

"Been a productive morning?" Castle asked innocently as he sipped his coffee, climbing under the tape and sitting in his usual spot. "Or are you too busy trying to stay awake?"

"Look, Castle. Just because I've got a cold doesn't mean I can't work." She put the coffee down and spun her chair around, facing her computer again. "I'm fine."

"Okay, if it's just a cold, then what flavor is your coffee? What's the actual temperature in here? How many boxes of tissues have you gone through?"

Kate sighed and paused her typing for a moment, but didn't turn around. "The coffee is the same as always, it's seventy-two degrees in here and this is my second box."

"You knew I was going to ask that, didn't you."

"Yep."

Castle nodded and finished his coffee while Kate finished typing a report. "So, what's on the agenda for this morning, then?"

Before Kate could answer, Esposito appeared. "Report of a body in Central Park. Beat cop came across it during rounds early this morning."

"Alright, let's go." Kate stood up and wobbled slightly, steadying herself on the desk. She glared at Castle, Esposito and Ryan, who was putting his coat on. "Anyone comments on that, you're on desk duty for a week."

All three men held up their hands and didn't say a word. Ryan and Esposito waited until Kate walked away before the interrogation began.

"Have you said anything to her?"

"She's not honestly going to a crime scene feeling that way, is she?"

"C'mon, Castle, you have to convince her.."

Castle raised a hand, silencing them both. "Leave it to me. You guys take your own car, we'll take ours. But we won't show up at the crime scene. Got it?"

Ryan grinned and Esposito held up his hand for a high-five. "Genius. But I'm so glad I'm not the one kidnapping Detective Beckett. Good luck with that."

"I'll need it," Castle muttered.

He knew how sick Kate actually was when she didn't realize they weren't going to Central Park and didn't know they were headed to her apartment building until they rounded the last corner.

"Castle, why are we in front of my building?"

"You're too sick to be anywhere but your bed, Kate, and you know it."

"I told you, I'm fine.."

"I looked at the report you wrote this morning, and your spelling was worse than.."

"Finish that sentence and I'll deck you," Kate said, her voice sounding incredibly hoarse.

"I don't need to finish it, Kate. You belong in bed, not walking around like a zombie. No one questions your dedication or strength, so let's just.." Castle glanced over at her, seeing she'd fallen asleep with her head against the window. He shook his head. It was just like Alexis when she was a baby. When she couldn't sleep, all he'd had to do was drive her around a bit and she'd fall asleep in no time.

After he'd carried her upstairs, he fished her keys from her coat pocket and managed to get the door open. With her long legs, it was difficult to maneuver and he'd nearly knocked over half the contents of her living room on their way to her bedroom. Putting her down on the bed, he removed her coat, boots, scarf and hat before covering her with another quilt. As he turned to leave, he heard a sleepy 'thank you'.

"You're welcome," he replied softly, closing the door behind him.

When she woke up a few hours later, she mustered the strength to change into some more comfortable clothes and put her hair back up. She wrapped herself in the quilt and staggered out into the hall. Castle was in the kitchen in front of the stove, stirring a small pot of soup.

"How was your nap?" He turned and smiled at her appearance.

All Kate could do was nod; her throat was too sore to talk. She peered into the pot and mouthed, "What's this?"

"Tomato rice soup. I used to make it for Alexis all the time. You hungry?" He turned off the burner and turned around. Kate was already holding a bowl, ready for him to fill it. "I take it that's a yes." She shot him a small smile over her shoulder as she sat down at the table.

They ate in companionable silence and when Kate finished, she put her hand over his and squeezed, whispering a thank you. She stood up and went out to the living room, the blanket trailing after her. Castle couldn't help but smile; while he'd never tell her this, she was absolutely adorable when she was sick.

After he cleaned up the mess he'd made, he wandered into the living room to find Kate asleep on the sofa with one of his books open in her lap. He watched her for a moment before gently lifting her feet and sitting down on the sofa, putting her feet in his lap and tucking the quilt back around her. He'd read to her when she woke up, but he wouldn't miss the opportunity to watch some awful daytime TV.

He could easily get used to this.


	2. Doctor Beckett

And now it's Kate's turn. :)

* * *

The report of a shooting had come in just past nine o'clock and Beckett glanced at her watch, then at Castle's empty chair beside her desk. It was now eleven minutes after nine. He was nowhere to be found and he wasn't answering his phone. With a sigh, she grabbed her badge and strapped her holster to her belt, checking to make sure the safety was still on. She, Esposito and Ryan got to the elevator before anyone said anything. Ryan spoke up, also glancing back at Castle's chair.

"Where's Castle?"

She shrugged and attempted to downplay her concern. "He's a no-show this morning. Must have been out too late last night at the release party for _Deadly Heat_."

Esposito raised an eyebrow but said nothing about her comment. "I just tried calling. He doesn't answer." He looked at Ryan and they each nodded once. "Look, why don't you go check on him? Ryan and I can handle this. You can meet us there after you check up on him."

"He's a grown man, Esposito. He can look after himself." The elevator arrived and the doors opened. The three of them turned to enter and saw Alexis standing there, looking incredibly exhausted.

"Whoa, Alexis- what's the matter?" Ryan ushered her out of the elevator and into an empty chair. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," she replied. "It's my dad who's not feeling well. I was up all last night looking after him. And I have a final to go take, so there's no way I can stay home with him." She leaned back in the chair and blew a lock of red hair from her face.

"Where's Martha?" Beckett asked. She handed her untouched coffee to Alexis, who smiled gratefully as she wrapped her hands around the warm cup.

"She's in Miami at an acting workshop."

Esposito looked at Ryan and smirked. Ryan grinned and turned toward Beckett, who was staring out the window, watching the snow fall.

"Say, Detective Beckett? Weren't you just on your way to check on Castle? If you stop over, Alexis can go take her final and you'd have your peace of mind." Beckett shot him a death glare and Ryan smiled innocently back at her, tilting his head ever-so-slightly, his blue eyes full of mirth.

"You were worried about him?" Alexis looked up at Beckett and grinned widely. "That's so sweet!"

"Well, when you get used to someone annoying you like he does me, you definitely notice when he's not there," she muttered. "I'll head over there right now. You go take your test, okay?"

Alexis nodded and stood up, wrapping her arms around Beckett. "Thanks, Kate. I really appreciate this, and while he may be crabby and whiny right now? My dad will appreciate it, too." She and Beckett stepped into the waiting elevator, and as the doors closed Ryan and Esposito waved.

Beckett only glared.

* * *

She arrived at Castle's apartment just before ten and used her key to get in. Her face contorted into a grimace immediately; it was hotter than hell in his apartment. The temperature had to be at _least_ eighty degrees, if not eighty-five. She shrugged out of her jacket and draped it over the back of the sofa, pushing her sleeves up.

"Castle?"

There was no answer. Beckett gathered her hair into a ponytail and scanned the room for the thermostat, spotting it on the wall leading up the stairs. As she passed she was shocked to see it was set at eighty-four. She turned it down to a more comfortable seventy-two degrees and continued up the stairs.

"Castle?"

She heard a muffled groan coming from his bedroom and gently rapped her knuckles against the door.

"Can I come in?"

Again, no answer. She pushed the door open and cautiously peered in. Castle was lying on his side, wrapped in his duvet so only his face was showing. He looked pale and exhausted and barely turned his head. He blinked once.

"What are you doing here?" It wasn't much more than a whisper.

Beckett entered the room and sat down on the edge of the bed, touching the backs of her fingers against his cheek. He was definitely running a fever. "Alexis stopped by the precinct. She's pretty worried, you know."

One thing Castle could still do, even while sick, was roll his eyes. "I'm _fine_," he said. The moment he finished that statement he began coughing, his entire body curling into itself even further. Once the coughing subsided, he was still for a moment.

"Ow."

Beckett shook her head. "Have you taken anything?"

Castle shook his head.

"Have you slept at all? Eaten anything?"

"I haven't gotten out of bed since Saturday." He burrowed his head beneath the blanket.

"Castle, it's Monday."

"And your point?"

"You're getting out of bed to take a shower, get something to eat and to take some medication. Then you can sleep as much as you want, I promise."

"You going to help me in the shower? I'm awfully weak."

Beckett elbowed him gently. "Nice to see you aren't on your deathbed. I'll be downstairs making some breakfast."

"Pancakes?"

She smiled. "If that gets you downstairs, then pancakes it is."

* * *

Beckett was comfortable in Castle's kitchen. They had similar ideas as to where everything was put away, so it was almost as if she were making breakfast at home. She moved from cabinet to cabinet, drawer to drawer, easily finding everything she needed. As she flipped another pancake, Castle came stumbling down the stairs, hair wet and a goose down quilt wrapped around his shoulders. While he still looked like a train wreck, at least he was clean.

"Smells good," he said, taking a seat at the counter. "Did you make any.."

She plunked a mug down in front of him and filled it with hot coffee, giving him a smile before she turned to refill her own mug. She then put a small glass of orange juice next to his coffee. "That's so you can take some of this," Beckett explained. A small box of cold and flu medicine appeared next to the orange juice.

"You gonna carry me upstairs when this stuff kicks in?" he asked. He tore open the box and removed two tablets from the foil packet, popping them in his mouth and chasing them with the orange juice. When he thought Beckett wasn't looking, he reached over to grab a piece of bacon. She slapped his knuckles with the spatula.

"Two more minutes and everything will be ready." Her face was serious, but her eyes betrayed her amusement. Rick shrugged and wrapped his hands around his coffee mug.

She filled his plate with food and put it down in front of him before filling her own and sitting down to his right. He watched as she spread a layer of peanut butter on one of her pancakes, stacked the second one on top of it then covered them in syrup. He smiled gently before doing the same, except he used more peanut butter. They ate in silence for a few minutes, savoring the quiet that surrounded them. The snow was still falling and Beckett leaned her head on her hand and stared out the window, a wistful smile on her face.

"My mom and I used to do this almost every morning when I was kid and home for Christmas break. Some mornings we made pancakes, others we made waffles or scrambled eggs."

Castle didn't say anything, but instead continued eating. When he was finished he turned to Beckett and put a hand on the back of her neck, squeezing gently.

"Thanks for coming over, Kate. While I still feel like death warmed over, it's a lot easier to bear because you're here."

She looked at him and shrugged her shoulders. "I was going to come by anyway, and then Alexis stopped by the precinct on her way to her exam, telling me how sick you were."

Castle stared into his nearly empty coffee mug, a puzzled look on his face. "Exam? She didn't have an exam today. Classes were cancelled because of the snow. She was on her way to grab coffee with friends."

Beckett shook her head and chuckled. "Well, looks like she definitely takes after her father, then." She grabbed her plate and his, carrying them to the sink. "Why don't you go back to bed? I'll finish cleaning up before I let myself out."

He thought about that for a moment. "Why don't you hang around? There's no reason you have to leave so soon. And that overnight bag you left here ages ago is still in my closet."

She stopped cleaning up long enough to look up at him. His eyelids were getting heavy and his shoulders were beginning to slump, but despite being barely conscious, he was completely serious.

"Let me change into some more comfortable clothes and grab another blanket. You pick the movie."

Castle nodded once and meandered into the living room, barely managing to turn on the Xbox and open Netflix before collapsing onto the couch and falling into a deep sleep. Beckett padded quietly down the stairs, a quilt and book in hand, and took her spot next to him, covering him with his quilt.

"Sweet dreams, Rick," she whispered, before opening the book and settling in for a quiet, relaxing afternoon.

When Alexis returned three hours later, she saw Kate sleeping on the couch, an open book splayed across her chest. Her dad's head was resting in her lap, both of them covered in blankets. Alexis just smiled and climbed the stairs to her room.

Sometimes all people need is a little push.


End file.
